Refrigerated display, dispensing and storing cabinet



9%; 9, 1956 v MlLLER 2,765,632

REFRIGERATED DISPLAY, DISPENSING AND STORING CABINET Fild March 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 39. 0o 1 N A (fig/0% um J I (\Worheg5 G. A. MILLER 2,765,632 REFRIGERATED DISPLAY, DISPENSING AND STORING CABINET Filed March 25, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 W a 0 N 3 ml 2; l a:

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2,765,632 REFRIGERATED DISPLAY, DISPENSING AND STORENG CABINET George A. Miller, Berrien prings, Mich, assiguor to Tyler Refrigeration Corporation, a corporation of Michigan Appiication March 25, 1953, Serial No. 344,567 6Claims. (or. 6z s9.59

With the modern methods of merchandising meat and meat products as practiced in self-service stores and markets, certain operations must be performed on the product as it progresses from the large room coolers to the point of sale. With mounting building costs, every square foot of floor space must be used to the best advantage.

This Work includes weighing, pricing and Wrapping the various meat cuts in transparent packages for display. The packages must be attractively arranged in open display areas readily available for self-service selection by the customer.

It is also essential that the merchandise be kept under refrigeration at all times as it progresses from the room coolers or adjoining refrigerated cutting rooms to point of sale. At present, one line of cabinets serves only to keep the various meat cuts under refrigeration as it progresses from the cutting room through roll conveyors to the preparatory stations.

From these stations, it must be transferred to refrigboxes or storage compartments in a second line of cablnets until needed to replenish stock removed from the display area by the customer. This method has proven wasteful of both valuable floor space, labor involved in servicing, as well as increased operating costs when two cabinets are used. With this method of merchandising, the meat carcasses are stored in large room coolers. Either here or in adjoining refrigerated cutting rooms various operations are performed to reduce them to saleable portions.

These operations are performed by meat cutters or butchers. These men are skilled operators accustomed to working in rooms held at low temperatures. The subsequent preparatory operations which includes the weighing, pricing, wrapping and servicing the display are usually performed by unskilled help, usually women.

They object to working in rooms held at the low temperatures necessary to preserve quality and appearance of merchandise while performing these necessary operations.

The prime objectives of this invention are to combine all of the above desirable and necessary features in a single line of refrigerated cabinets that can be located in sales rooms held at comfortable temperatures. The objectives are outlined below.

Means whereby meat cuts, in suitable containers or on platters best suited for handling, can be transported on roll conveyors from room coolers or cutting rooms to further preparatory stations through refrigerated air best suited to preserve their quality and appearance.

Another object is to locate the conveyor line accessible to the cabinet attendant Who can transfer platters containing meat cuts assigned to that particular cabinet to storage prior to wrapping.

Another object in locating storage space in close proximity to the display compartment is that the cabinet attendant will have available meat cuts ready for wrapping or wrapped cuts ready for the display area, but out of the line of customers vision and unac-cesible to the customer.

Another object is to provide shelves slidably mounted but located in the refrigerated zone on which merchandise can be transported with least eifort to any point in the cabinet for replenishing stock in the display area.

Another objective use of this shelf is to provide a rest for meat containers at a convenient level but still in the refrigerated zone while it is being Wrapped preparatory for sale or stocking.

Another object is to provide a front display shelf of suitable length and depth conveniently located but seetional in length so that portions can be removed for access to storage compartment below for ease in cleaning.

All of these objectives are incorproated in one cabinet using only one refrigerating system to cool a single refrigerated compartment. By novel design and arrangement of this compartment, it has all of the desired features mentioned.

The invention is hereafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, references being bad to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a transverse sectional elevation on the line 11 of Fig. 2 showing a refrigerated cabinet embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same including the conveyor cabinet extending into the cooler room, and

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same.

Like reference numbers refer to like parts in all of the figures.

Within the cabinet is a refrigerated compartment 5 having vertical walls 6 and 7 and a bottom 8 which has a depressed portion 9 in which the roller conveyor is mounted. The compartment 5 also has an open top.

The compartment sides 6 and 7 are spaced inwardly from the cabinet sides 2 providing passages 10 and 11 for the refrigerated air circulation and these passages 10 and 11 are closed at their upper edges by caps 12. The passage 10 has two vertically spaced outlet openings 13 and 14 and the passage 11 has an inlet opening 15 near its upper edge.

The space below the bottom 8, 9 of the compartment 5 temperature by the constant circulation of air which is cooled as it passes through the evaporator W In the upper part of the compartment 5 are front and rear supports 20 and 21 for the display trays 22 which passing from these openings circulates both below and above the display trays. The display trays contain the processed and wrapped meat at a level Where it can be easily seen and reached by the customer.

At the rear of the trays 22 is a pair of spaced horizontal tracks 23 which extend the whole length of the compartment and slidably support a shelf 24 the refrigerated air opening so that they and the contents of tray are within the refrigerated zone in the compartment 5.

In the lower part of the compartment 5, resting on the bottom 8 and below the display trays 22 are located a plurality of storage trays 26. These storage trays may contain meat cuts, either wrapped and ready for sale or unwrapped and are within easy reach of the attendant from the rear, but are not visible to the customer from the front of the case because they are hidden by the display trays 22.

The meat carcasses are stored and processed by butchers in a large cooling room where the butchers work in the cold temperature. After being processed the meat cuts leave the cooling room 27 and pass into the warm part of the store where the cuts are weighed, priced, wrapped and displayed for sale, but in all these processes which are done in a warm room, the meat must be maintained at low temperature.

After being processed the meat cuts are placed in supply trays 28 which are then moved along a refrigerating apparatus including roller conveyors. These roller conveyors 29 are present in the lower part of the compartment 5 at the rear of the storage trays 26 and in the depressed portion 9 in the bottom thereof.

To accomplish this the cabinet may be placed adjacent an opening in the wall of the cooler room and the supply trays passed onto the roller conveyors 29 in the cabinet, or if preferred, a supplemental refrigerated conveyor cabinet 30 may be provided which has roller conveyors 31 therein, the conveyor cabinet 30 extending from the display cabinet to and into the cooler room 27. This conveyor cabinet 30 is refrigerated by suitable means and may have one or more roller conveyor tracks 31 therein but one of said tracks 31 should join with the conveyor tracks 29 in the display cabinet.

In this way the processed meat is placed in the supply trays 28 which are moved over the conveyors 31 and 29 which are in refrigerated air.

Over or adjacent the conveyor cabinet 30 is a weighing and pricing station 32 which is outside of the refrigerated zone and where an attendant weighs and prices the meat cuts, lifting them momentarily from the supply tray 28 below and in the cold zone. The trays are then moved along the roller conveyors 31 and onto the conveyors 29 in the display cabinet, an opening being provided in the end 4 of the cabinet through which the trays pass.

These trays 28 are lifted one by one as desired from the track 29 and placed upon the sliding shelf 24 which is within the cold zone of the compartment 5 and from there the cuts are within easy reach of an attendant and are wrapped one by one on a wrapping table 3 which is conveniently located adjacent the rear of the display cabinet. The cuts of meat are only here exposed to the warm temperature for the few seconds required to do the wrapping, and are immediately returned to the tray on the sliding shelf which is in the cold Zone.

Thus the single cabinet provides, all within the refrigerated zone, a meat display in the upper part where it is easily visible and can be reached by the customer, a storage space and meat supply conveyor accessible to an attendant from the rear but out of the line of vision of the customer at the front, and a sliding shelf to hold meat cuts to be wrapped easily accessible to the attendant at the rear.

Also, there may be the refrigerated supply conveyors which extend from the display cabinet to the cooling and processing room so that the meat is kept continuously at cold temperature excepting for the few seconds required to do the weighing, pricing and wrapping by attendants working outside the cooling room.

Also, by this means the unskilled help who weigh, price and wrap the cuts work in normal room temperature having only to reach into the cold zone occasionally, which is not objectionable to them.

The invention is defined in the appended claims which are to be considered comprehensive of all forms within their scope.

I claim:

1. A refrigerated cabinet comprising a compartment having a front and a rear and a substantially fiat top which is open from front to rear, means for refrigerating the interior of said compartment, means for holding goods to be displayed and dispensed near the upper part of the compartment and extending substantially horizontally from the front across a considerable part of the width of the compartment, and a conveyor extending longitudinally substantially the length of the compartment and located in the lower rear part thereof sufficiently to provide access to the space therebelow in a position to be shielded from the normal vision of a person standing in front of the cabinet by said display means, said conveyor being readily accessible from the rear of the cabinet.

2. The elements of claim 1 combined with a storage space in the lower part of said compartment near the front thereof beneath said display means and shielded thereby from the normal line of vision of a person in front of the cabinet, said storage space being reachably accessible and visible from the rear of the cabinet through the open top of the compartment.

3. The elements of claim 1 combined with a track in said compartment mounted to the rear of said display means, said track extending substantially the length of said compartment above said conveyor, and a tray holding shelf slidably mounted on said track, said shelf and tray thereon being in the refrigerated zone of the compartment and easily accessible from the rear of the cabinet.

4. The elements of claim 2 combined with a track in said compartment mounted to the rear of said display means, said track extending substantially the length of said compartment above said conveyor, and a tray holding shelf slidably mounted on said track, said shelf and tray thereon being in the refrigerated zone of the compartment and easily accessible from the rear of the cabinet.

5. The elements of claim 1 combined with an extension refrigerated cabinet joining one end of said first cabinet, said extension cabinet having an open top and an extension conveyor therein in alignment with the first conveyor, there being a communicating passageway between said cabinets whereby trays on said extension conveyor can move into said compartment on the first conveyor all within the refrigerated zones of said cabinets.

6. A refrigerated cabinet comprising a compartment having a front and rear and an open top, means for refrigerating the interior of said compartment, continuous means for holding goods to be displayed near the upper part of the compartment and extending substantially horizontally from the front across a considerable part of the width of the compartment and spaced from the rear thereof and means for storing goods in said compartment below said display means and in a position to be shielded by the display means from the normal vision of a person standing in front of the cabinet, said goods in both said storage means and in said display means being readily accessible from the rear of the cabinet through the open top thereof and the goods in said display means being readily accessible from the front of the cabinet through the open top thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

